British satellite company Inmarsat is in "advanced discussions" with British
Airways to provide 4G broadband to its passengers while 30,000ft up

Whether or not you enjoy flying, knowing that you cannot be contacted by your boss when you're 30,000ft in the air is something we can all enjoy.

But not for much longer. Soon that red light on your blackberry will be flashing midflight after a London-based satellite company teamed up with Britain's largest airline to provide the internet to passengers.

Inmarsat has announced plans to roll out in-flight passenger broadband services on all flights in the EU and is in "advanced discussions" with British Airways for it to be the launch customer.

It will be the first time passengers in the EU will able to use the internet while flying. Access will available on the screens on the back of the seats as well as the passengers' own mobile phones and tablets.

Inmarsat, whose raw data has been used in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, said it has teamed up with European peer Hellas-Sat to order a powerful new satellite from French-Italian firm Thales Alenia Space to provide the service.

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The satellite, which is named Europasatand is due to be delivered in 2016, will cost between $200m and $250m over six years, the company said.

Using the internet while midflight is already available in North America, and has proved to be a success with installation and usage growing rapidly.

"We believe that the same in-flight connectivity opportunity exists in Europe and that, with the support of EU telecoms regulators, Inmarsat can rapidly bring to market unique, high speed aviation passenger connectivity services to meet this market demand on an EU-wide basis," said Rupert Peace, chief executive of Inmarsat.

He added that a number of European airlines were "aligned with this vision" and confirmed the company was speaking with British Airways to be its first customer.

Kate Thornton, head of product and service at British Airways, said the 4G broadband network would first be available on UK domestic routes, "giving our customers the internet access they expect on the ground while in the air".

Unlike in the US where Gogo, which was the first company to provide the air-to-ground network, is facing competition from AT&T, Inmarsat is unlikely to face the same problem, according to Giles Thorne, analyst at Jefferies. He said the company's proposal was "compelling".